Who agrees? Kirk's a womanizer!

It was your characterization of a slave with no control over her own life as somehow wanting to have sex with a stranger to comfort him that I find so laughable. It's a boy's fantasy, totally disconnected from the reality of slavery. Now if you want to view this as a fantasy space opera, fine, that kind of character fits right in. But people try and make Star Trek be about something, ideals and values, and if you view it through that lens it's quite a different story.

Just to be clear I don't fault Kirk at all, but any nobility on his part was about trying to escape and save his ship, not about "love" for this woman.

It was your characterization of a slave with no control over her own life as somehow wanting to have sex with a stranger to comfort him that I find so laughable. It's a boy's fantasy, totally disconnected from the reality of slavery.

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Women were often raped. Their genitalia mutilated, their babies stabbed and thrown in the compost heap to die, if the women bred too quickly. They were whipped, beaten, treated like blighted cattle.

House slaves were threatened with severe punishments. They were to be seen, not heard. If the food or service was not to the master's liking, the slave was beaten, whipped, their hair was pulled out forcefully, leaving clots of blood to scab over, and sometimes, they were killed if the "offense" was egregious enough.

I'm aware of the realities of slavery.

Now if you want to view this as a fantasy space opera, fine, that kind of character fits right in. But people try and make Star Trek be about something, ideals and values, and if you view it through that lens it's quite a different story.

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I view it as Gunsmoke in space.

Just to be clear I don't fault Kirk at all, but any nobility on his part was about trying to escape and save his ship, not about "love" for this woman.

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I didn't say he loved Drusilla. I said he may have been about to die, and this woman offered him comfort and solace, along with other, more physical pleasures. He was likely formulating a plan to get back to the ship, but he was, if nothing else, a realist.

Thing is a person can be a Ladies Man and not think they are using a woman but then you have the women that fall in love with the Ladies Man and are hit with the cold reality that the Ladies Man wanted to have sex with them, not have a relationship with them. Now maybe they were a bit stupid (or a bit young) but if they called that man a Womanizer that's quite accurate to their experience.

People don't write out a contract clearly stating that this night of passion is only about sex and fun and not about a relationship. James T. Kirk certainly does not do this. He's extremely charismatic and the captain of a starship, I'm sure many women were hoping they would mean a lot more to him than a night of passion.

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I'm not suggesting that ladies' men aren't part of harmful relationships. I agree: they often are. My point is that there is an important moral difference between those who set out to use someone and those who do not. And, to me, these two labels recognise this moral difference.

By the way, by noting this moral difference, I'm not absolving the ladies man of responsibility, e.g. for not recognising a lover's expectations (love) don't fit with his expectations (sex). I'm simply noting that there's a difference of intention, and that this is morally significant.

(It's also worth noting that both parties can sometimes be equally deluded: he in his no-strings fantasy, she in her romance fantasy. It can be she & she and he & he, of course.)

She was a SLAVE. In order to please her master she needed to please the man she was sent to sleep with. Her master could have her killed any time he wanted to.

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So you are suggesting Kirk finally came to the realisation that he needed to have sex with her to prevent her master believing she had failed in her "mission"? I guess we're back to Kirk being "noble" again.

No, why don't you support your claim? I'd like to see some numbers:
1. How many women did Kirk kiss?
2. How many women did Kirk kiss while not having an non-sexual ulterior motive?
3. How many women did Kirk actually sleep with?

This page has a look at each and every episode of the original series and counts up Kirk's little conquests, etc. It's actually a much shorter list than most people think. Context is also considered. Enjoy!

And personally, I don't think Kirk is a womanizer, especially after seeing pages like the above link.

As far as Kelinda goes. If I was Kirk; I wouldn't go sticking things into what appears to be a lucious human female on the outside. That you know is a strange alien creature from another galaxy on the inside. You never know where they might have extra teeth.

As far as Kelinda goes. If I was Kirk; I wouldn't go sticking things into what appears to be a lucious human female on the outside. That you know is a strange alien creature from another galaxy on the inside. You never know where they might have extra teeth.

I've been wreaking my brain for the past half hour or so thinking of some (legal) way for you to watch that episode, and I can't think of one short of you having to buy a DVD player. Australia seems a bit limited on their media availability! Not to rub it in (I swear), but here in the U.S., I have a dozen ways to see the show anytime I want. It's a shame you can't do that.

I've been wreaking my brain for the past half hour or so thinking of some (legal) way for you to watch that episode, and I can't think of one short of you having to buy a DVD player. Australia seems a bit limited on their media availability! Not to rub it in (I swear), but here in the U.S., I have a dozen ways to see the show anytime I want. It's a shame you can't do that.

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As far as I can tell, the infrastructure's there (e.g. cable internet, HD screens). But copyright negotiations probably make the difference. It's why folks outside Australia can't buy the ebook edition of my first book (yet). It's available, but y'all can't have it. (Unless someone tells me otherwise.)

Meanwhile, I can convert a DVD file to MP4 on my laptop, then import into iTunes. Then I can play it on a bigger screen.

I've been wreaking my brain for the past half hour or so thinking of some (legal) way for you to watch that episode, and I can't think of one short of you having to buy a DVD player. Australia seems a bit limited on their media availability! Not to rub it in (I swear), but here in the U.S., I have a dozen ways to see the show anytime I want. It's a shame you can't do that.

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As far as I can tell, the infrastructure's there (e.g. cable internet, HD screens). But copyright negotiations probably make the difference. It's why folks outside Australia can't buy the ebook edition of my first book (yet). It's available, but y'all can't have it. (Unless someone tells me otherwise.)

Meanwhile, I can convert a DVD file to MP4 on my laptop, then import into iTunes. Then I can play it on a bigger screen.

As for the movies, I can't stand the way the distribution system works. I think releases should be available worldwide. It's not like we can't do it. I guess the big guys think there's just more money in their method.

Yes, I was talking about Distraction. But that's actually the Australian edition. This is the US edition.

I've been told you (in the US/Canada) can't buy the Australian edition, but this might not be correct.

As for the movies, I can't stand the way the distribution system works. I think releases should be available worldwide. It's not like we can't do it. I guess the big guys think there's just more money in their method.